OUR MASONIC PRESIDENTS SHORT

TALK BULLETIN - Vol.XI July, 1933 No.7

by: Unknown

William L. Boyden, P.M., Librarian of the Supreme
Council, A.A.S.R., S.J., a Masonic historian of tireless energy and scholarly
ability, was author of that classic of the Craft, “Masonic Presidents, Vice
Presidents, and signers of the Declaration of Independence” on which this
Bulletin has drawn heavily.

Fifteen Presidents were members of the Fraternity:

Buchanan, Ford, Garfield, Harding, Jackson, Andrew
Johnson, Lyndon B. Johnson (A.E. only), McKinley, Monroe, Polk, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Truman, and Washington. Jefferson and
Madison have often been claimed as Masons, but there is no acceptable evidence
to prove that either was ever a Mason.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

George Washington, 1st President (1789-1797),
has a Masonic history so rich a Short Talk Bulletin (Vol.10, No.2, February
1932) was necessary for a bare outline. Washington was initiated, passed
and raised in “The Lodge at Fredricksburg, Va.,” (now No.4 on the Virginia
Register) on November 4, 1752, March 3, and August 4, 1753. He was made an
honorary member of Alexandria Lodge No.39, June 24, 1784. When his Lodge
gave up its Charter under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to accept
one from the Grand Lodge of Virginia and become No.22, April 28, 1788,
Washington was named as Charter Worshipful Master, and was re-elected Master
December 20, 1788. He was made and Honorary Member of Holland Lodge No. 8,
New York, 1789.

His Masonic activities and visits were many; his letters
to and about Lodges and Masons fills a volume. He was the only President
ever to be Master of his Lodge during his incumbency. The cornerstone of
the United States Capital was laid by Washington, with Masonic ceremonies, on
September 18, 1793, at the request of Maryland’s Grand Master pro tem.

He died December 14, 1799, and was buried with full
Masonic honors by Alexandria Lodge No.22, on December 18th. The
Lodge later changed its name to Alexandria Washington Lodge No.22.
To his memory and fame the Masons of the United States are erecting the
mightiest stone monument ever raised to honor any man. Built without
metal, to endure a long as granite shall last; this memorial stands on Shooter’s
Hill, just outside the city of Alexandria, Va.

JAMES MONROE

James Monroe, 5th President (1817-1824), was
born in Westmoreland County, Virginia April 28, 1752.

The original records of Williamsburg Lodge No.6,
Williamsburg, Va., show (November 6,1775) that he was “recommended as a fit
person to be admitted a member of this lodge and the motion recorded. On
November 9, 1775, he was “preferred, received and balloted for; passed and
accepted and entered an apprentice.: The curious reader will note that he
was not quite seventeen years and six months old at this time!

His dues were paid through October 1780, but no record
shows as to when he was raised. Tradition states that he received the
Master’s Degree in a Military Lodge during the revolution, and also credits him
membership in Kilwinning Cross Lodge No.2, Port Royal, Va. Little is known
of his Masonic life. He visited Cumberland Lodge No.8, at a meeting
especially called to receive him in Nashville, Tennessee, June 8, 1819. He
died in New York, July 4, 1831.

ANDREW JACKSON

Andrew Jackson, 7th President (1829-1836),
born at Waxhaw Settlement, N.C., March 15, 1767, was unquestionably a Mason, but
when and where he was raised is not certain.

At the first meeting of Tennessee Lodge No.2 (originally
No.41, N.C.) March 24, 1800, in Love’s Tavern, Knoxville, Tennessee, Jackson was
present as a member of Harmony Lodge No.1, Nashville, Tennessee (originally No.
29, N.C.).

Past Grand Master Comstock of Tennessee, noted historian,
believes Jackson was made a Mason in Harmony Lodge No.1. Federal Lodge
No.1, Washington , D.C., elected him an Honorary Member January 4, 1839; Jackson
Lodge No.1, Tallahassee, Florida, Elected him an Honorary Member sat some
unknown date; the Grand Lodge of Florida elected him an Honorary Member January
15, 1833. His chief claim to Masonic fame is that he is the only Grand
Master to become President. He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge
of Tennessee and served from October 7, 1822, to October 4, 1823. In the
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge (1822) he is credited with being a Past Master
but no records substantiate the statement. Past Grand Master Comstock also
believes that Jackson was a Royal Arch Mason, receiving these degrees, as was
the custom in early days, under the authority of the Blue Lodge Warrant.
He served the Grand Chapter of Tennessee as Deputy General Grand High Priest at
its institution, April 3, 1826, but no record exists of his affiliation with any
Chapter.

He acted as Senior Warden at the first meeting of
Greenville Lodge No.3 (formerly No.43, N.C.), September 5, 1801; contributed
thirty-five dollars in 1818 to the erection of a Masonic Temple in Nashville;
requested two Lodges to perform funeral services; introduced Lafayette to the
Grand Lodge of Tennessee in 1825; while President, assisted Washington’s Mother
Lodge to lay the cornerstone of a monument to Washington’s Mother at
Fredricksburg, Va. (May 6,1833); assisted in the Masonic laying of the
cornerstone of Jackson City (across the river from Washington, D.C.) January 11,
1836; attended the Grand Lodge of Tennessee in 1839, and the same year visited
Cumberland Chapter No.1 of Nashville, to assist in installation of officers.
He died at “The Hermitage” near Nashville, Tennessee, June 8, 1845.

JAMES KNOX POLK

James Knox Polk, 11th President (1845-1849),
was born in Mecklenburg County, N.C. November, 1795. He was initiated in
Columbia Lodge No. 31, Columbia, Tennessee, June 5, Passed August 7, and raised
September 4, 1820. In October he was he was elected Junior Deacon, and
Junior Warden December 3, 1821, but there is no record of his having been
Master. In 1825 he received the Royal Arch Degree in Lafayette Chapter No.
4, Columbia, Tennessee. June 24, 1840, he attended the feast of St. John
the Baptist celebrated by Columbia Lodge No.8 and Hiram Lodge No.7 at Nashville,
and marched with them in procession to a church for Divine Services. May
1,1847, he assisted in the Masonic laying of the cornerstone of the Smithsonian
Institute, Washington, D.C. He died at Nashville, Tennessee, June 15,
1849.

JAMES BUCHANAN

James Buchanan, 15th President (1857-1861),
was born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791. When twenty-three
years of age he petitioned Lodge No.43 (the lodge had no name) of Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, and was elected and initiated December 11, 1816, and both passed
and raised on January 24, 1817. He was elected Junior Warden December 13,
1920; Master December 23, 1822, and was installed March 12, 1823. He was
appointed First District Deputy Grand Master for Lancaster, Lebonon and York
Counties, December 27, 1823.

May 20, 1826, he was exalted in Royal Arch Chapter No.43
(also no name) of Lancaster. Thirty-two years later he was made a Life
Member by his Lodge. He delivered the address in the Masonic dedication of
the statue of Washington, Washington Circle, Washington, D.C., February 22,
1860. He died June 1, 1868, and was buried Masonically by his Lodge.

ANDREW JOHNSON

Andrew Johnson, 17th President (1865-1868),
was born at Raleigh, N.C., December 29, 1808. He received the degrees in
Greenville Lodge No.119 at Greenville, Tennessee in 1851; is supposed to have
been a Chapter Mason but the name of the Chapter and date of exaltation are
unknown; was Knighted in Nashville Commandery No.1, Nashville, Tennessee, July
26, 1859, and, the First President to become a Scottish Rite Mason, received
those degrees in the White House June 20, 1867, from Benjamin B. French, 33 Deg.
and A.T.C. Pierson, 33 Deg., both active members of the Supreme Council, S.J.
He participated in five cornerstone layings; the monument to Bro. Stephen a
Douglas, Chicago, Illinois, September 6, 1866; Masonic Temple, Baltimore,
Maryland, November 20, 1866; Masonic Temple Boston, Massachusetts, June 24,
1867; National Cemetery, Antietam, Maryland, October 17, 1867; and Masonic
Temple, Washington, D.C., May 20, 1868. To attend this ceremony he gave
leave to all Masons in government service, and President Johnson marched on foot
in the parade as a Master Mason.

At the cornerstone laying of the Baltimore Temple some
one suggested that a chair be brought to the reviewing platform for him.
Brother Johnson refused it, saying: “We all meet on the level.” He died July 31,
1875, and was buried with full Masonic Honors by Greenville Lodge No.119, R.W.G.
C. Connor, Deputy Grand Master of Tennessee conducting the services in the
presence of four Lodges and Coeur de Lion Commandery No.9 of Knoxville, which
performed the Templar service.

JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD

James Abram Garfield, 20th President (1881),
was born in Orange, Ohio, November 19, 1831. He was initiated November 19,
1861, in Magnolia Lodge No.20, Columbus, Ohio. Passed two weeks later, he
waited almost three years (due to military service) for his raising, November
22, 1864, in Columbus Lodge No.30, Columbus, Ohio, by request of his mother
Lodge.

He dimitted August 1, 1865, and joined Garrettsville
Lodge No.246, Garrettsville, Ohio, October 10, 1866, serving as Chaplain in 1868
and 69. On May 4, 1869, he became a Charter Member of Pentalpha Lodge
No.23, D.C.. In Washington he was exalted in Columbia Chapter No.1, April
18, 1866; received the Templar degrees, May 18, 1866, in Columbia Commandery
No.2, and the 14th degree, Scottish Rite, January 2, 1872. The
degrees from the 6th
to the 13th were communicated to him by Albert Pike, Sovereign Grand
Commander of the Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction.

Hanselmann Commandery No.16, Cincinnati, Ohio, made him
an Honorary Member July 19, 1881; after he was assassinated on July 2. He
died September 19, 1881. Columbia Commandery No.2, D.C., escorted his
remains to Cleveland, where he was buried in the presence of a large number of
Cementers and other Masonic Bodies.

WILLIAM McKINLEY

William McKinley, t President (1897-1901), was born at
Niles, Ohio, January 29, 1843. He was made a Mason in Hiram Lodge No.21,
of Winchester, Virginia. Prior to being elected and initiated May 1st,
passed May 2nd, and raised May 3 rd, 1865; as a Lieutenant he was
making a round in a hospital for Confederate wounded. Noticing that the
regimental surgeon distributed gifts of tobacco and money to certain patients,
he was told that these particular wounded Southerners were brother Masons.
McKinley then expressed his desire to become a member of the Fraternity that
promoted such sentiments between opposing armies.

He dimitted the same day he was raised, affiliating with
Canton Lodge No.60, of Canton, Ohio, August 21, 1867, Only to become a Charter
member on June 2, 1869, of Eagle Lodge No.431, of the same city, which
afterwards changed its name to William McKinley Lodge No.431. He received
the Royal Arch Degree in Canton Chapter No.84, December 28, 1883; was made a
Knight Templar in Canton Commandery No.38, December 23, 1884; elected a Life
Member of Washington Comandry No.1, D.C. December 23, 1896, and became an
Honorary Member of the Illinois Masonic Veteran Association, October 26, 1898.
His Masonic activities include reviewing a parade of Knights Templar from the
White House, May 6, 1897; a visit to his Mother Lodge in Winchester, Virginia,
May 19, 1899; participation in the Masonic centennial observance of the death of
George Washington, December 14, 1899; again reviewing a Knights Templar parade
from the White House, October 11, 1900, and attending a reception of California
Commandery No.1, in San Francisco, May 22, 1901. He dies in Buffalo, N.Y.
September 14, 1901, following his assassination September 6,1901.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President
(1901-1909), was born in New York City, October 27, 1858. He was
initiated January 2nd, passed March 27th and raised April
24, 1901, in Matinecock Lodge No.806, Oyster Bay, New York. Pentalpha
Lodge No. 23, D.C., made him an Honorary Member April 4, 1904, as did the
Illinois Masonic Veterans Association in 1903.

Roosevelt’s interest in the Fraternity was often
expressed and his visits to Lodges were not only in this country, also abroad.
November 5, 1902, he attended the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania celebration of
Washington’s initiation in Philadelphia; in Washington, D.C., February 21, 1903,
he honored the Masonic ceremonies of laying the cornerstone of the army War
College with his presence; May 26, 1903, he broke ground for a Masonic Temple at
Spokane, Washington; April 14, 1906, he attended the Masonic cornerstone laying
of the House of Representative’s Building in Washington, D.C., where he
delivered the address, presenting a bound copy of it to the Grand Master,
inscribed:

“To Walter A. Brown, Esq., Grand Master of Masons, from
Brother Theodore Roosevelt,” and June 8, 1907, he wore Masonic Regalia and
delivered an address at the laying of the cornerstone of the New Masonic Temple,
Washington, D.C. He died in Oyster Bay New York, January 6, 1919.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

William Howard Taft, 27th President
(1909-1913), was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 15,1857. Unique among
Masonic Presidents, he was made a Mason “at sight,” at Cincinnati, Ohio,
February 18, 1909, in an Emergent Lodge called together for the purpose.
At five O’clock in the afternoon Grand Mast Charles S Hoskinson personally
administered the obligations and esoteric instructions. That evening Taft
witnessed the Master’s degree conferred by Kilwinning Lodge No.356, of
Cincinnati, which elected him to membership April 14, 1909.

Crescent Lodge No.25, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, elected him an
Honorary Member June 5, 1918. On April 22, 1909, he visited Temple-Noyes
Lodge No.32, at Washington, D.C., of which his close friend and aide, Major
Archie Butt, was a member and for whom, after the Titanic disaster, Temple-Noyes
Lodge held an elaborate Memorial Service which Brother Taft attended as one of
the Chief Mourners. He visited the famous American Union Lodge No.1, at
Marietta, Ohio, June 15, 1910;

Alexan-dria Washington Lodge No.22, on Washington’s
birthday, 1911;

May 9th of the same year he posed for a
picture in Washington’s Masonic regalia at the White House; May 13th
he visited St John’s Lodge No.1, Newark, N.J., to help celebrate its 150th
anniversary; on December 27, 1914, he addressed the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, and on June 5, 1918, he spoke to Crescent Lodge No.25 of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. He dies March 8, 1930.

WARREN GAMALIEL HARDING

Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th President
(1921--1923), was born in Morrow County, Ohio, November 2, 1865. His
interest in the Order was of his mature years. He was initiated in Marion
Lodge No.70, Marion, Ohio, June 28,1901, when thirty-six years of age, but was
not passed until August 13, 1920, nineteen years later. He was raised
August 27, 1920.

His three years as a Master Mason were short but crowded.
Albert Pike Lodge No.36, Washington, D.C., made him an Honorary Member and
presented him with a Gold Membership Card at the White House May 4, 1921; Marion
Chapter No.62, Marion, Ohio, exalted him January 13, 1921; Marion Council No.22,
elected him to the Cryptic Rite but he died before receiving it; March 1, 1921,
Marion Commandery No.36, conferred upon him the Red Cross, Malta and Temple
Degrees;

January 5, 1921, he received the Scottish Rite Degrees
from the 4th through 32nd in Columbus, Ohio. The
Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction elected him to receive the 33 deg.
September 22, 1921. The degree was to be given him a year later, but he
could not attend on account of Mrs. Harding’s illness. He died
before the session of 1923. Aladdin Temple of the Shrine, Columbus, Ohio,
created him a Noble (the first President to receive the Red Fez) January 7,
1921;

Almas Temple, Washington, D.C. elected him an Honorary
Member March 21, 1921; the Imperial Council of the Shrine elected him an
Honorary Member June 1923; Kallipolis Grotto, Washington, D.C. made him a
Prophet at the White House May 11,1921, presenting him with a Gold Life
Membership Card;

Evergreen Forest No.49, Milford, Delaware, made him a
Tall Cedar, June 9, 1923, and Washington Chapter No. 3, National Sojourners,
presented him with a Gold Badge of Membership at the White House, May 28, 1923.

By letters and personal conversations, he evidenced much
interest in his new relationships. He had agreed to review the Ascension
Day Parade of Knights Templar in Washington, D.C. in 1921, but weather prevented
it. May 9,1921, he reviewed a parade of Shriners and in the evening made
an address at a ceremonial of Almas Temple, Washington, D.C. In 1923 he
visited the Scottish Rite Bodies in St. Augustine, Florida; June 5, of the same
year he delivered an address before the Imperial Council of the Shrine,
Washington, D.C.; later, wearing his Fez, he reviewed the parade, declaring it:”
“The greatest spectacle I ever witnessed.: In July, 1923, he officiated at
the laying of the cornerstone for the Masonic Temple of Ketchikan Lodge No. 159,
Alaska.

He died in San Francisco, California, August 2, 1923; and
after laying in state in the National Capital, was buried in Marion, Ohio,
August 10th.

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President
(1933-1945, was born at Hyde Park, New York, January 30, 1882. He was
initiated in Holland Lodge No.8, New York City, October 10th, passed
November 14th and raised November 28, 1911. He received the
Scottish Rite degrees in Albany, New York, February 28, 1929. He was a
member of the Grotto (Poughkeepsie, New York) and Tall Cedars (Warwick, New
York. He was “Right Worshipful” having been accredited the
representative of the Grand Lodge of Georgia near the Grand Lodge of New York
September 22, 1930.

Stansbury Lodge No.24, Washington, D.C. made him an
Honorary Member November 21, 1919, when he officiated at the Masonic laying of
the cornerstone of its Temple.

He attended Architect Lodge No.519, of New York City,
February 17,1933, where he raised his son Elliott to the Sublime Degree and made
an address in which he stressed the importance of Masonic principles to this
Nation, and his faith in the Americanism of the Ancient Craft, He died at Warm
Spring, Georgia, April 12, 1945, and was buried at Hyde Park, New York.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

Harry S. Truman, 33rd President (1945-1953).
For the second time in the 169 year history of the United States of America, a
Past Grand Master of Masons was elevated to the office of President. Harry
S. Truman became the 33rd Chief Executive, Thursday, April 12, 1945,
when he was sworn in by Chief Justice Harlan Stone, two and a half hours after
the untimely death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was born May 8, 1884,
a LaMar, Barton County, Missouri. He was made a Mason in Belton Lodge
No.450, of Missouri, March 9, 1909, and served as Junior Warden in 1910.
In 1911, he organized Grandview Lodge No.618 and served as its first Worshipful
Master. Later, he was its Secretary, and again, in 1917, its Master.
From 1925 to 1930, he served the Grand Lodge as District Deputy Grand Master and
District Deputy Grand Lecturer, and in 1930 was appointed Grand Pursuivant, and
progressed regularly until his elevation as Grand Master in 1940.

On November 15, 1919, he was exalted in Orient Chapter
No.102, Kansas City, Missouri; greeted in Shekinah Council No.24, Kansas City,
Missouri, December 8, 1919; Knighted by Palestine Commandery No.17, of
Independence, Missouri, June 15,1923, receiving the 32 deg in Western Missouri
Consistery, Kansas City, Missouri. On November 21, 1941, he received from
Grand Commander Melvin M. Johnson, 33 deg, of the Northern Supreme Council, the
Gourgas Medal for distinguished service to Masonry. Humanity and Country.
In 1945, he was crowned a 33 deg by the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President, was born on
August 27, 1908, on a farm near Stonewall, Texas. He was sworn in as the
Chief Executive on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated in Dallas, Texas. A year later, running against the
Republican nominee, Senator and Brother Barry Goldwater of Arizona, he won a
landslide victory, to serve as President for the four-year term, January, 1965;
January ,1969. He declined to run for re-election in 1968.

On October 30, 1937, he was initiated an Entered
Apprentice in Johnson City, Texas. He never advanced. A week after
his initiation he won an election for Representative in Congress and began a
very busy political career in Washington which lasted until his retirement from
the Presidency in January of 1969.

The opinion among Masons is divided as to whether he
should be regarded as a Masonic President, since he never achieved the status of
Master Mason. Masonic law in Texas declares that “Entered Apprentices and
Fellowcrafts are Masons,” although denied certain rights and privileges, Lyndon
B. Johnson was accepted and initiated in a Masonic Lodge, and at that time was
addressed as “Brother.”

GERALD RUDOLPH FORD, JR.

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., 38th President, was
born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, 1913, but has lived most of his life in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. He represented the 5th Michigan
district in Congress from 1948 till 1973, when he was appointed Vice President
by President Richard M. Nixon. When Nixon was forced to resign, Brother
Ford became President on August 9, 1974.

With three brothers, he was initiated into Masonry in
Malta Lodge No.465, Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 30, 1949.
Columbia Lodge No.3 of the District of Columbia conferred the Fellowcraft and
Master Mason degrees as a courtesy to Malta Lodge No.465. He became a
Master Mason on May 18, 1951. He became a member of the Scottish Rite in
the Valley of Grand Rapids, A.A.S.R., Northern Jurisdiction, in 1957, and was
coronetted an Honorary 33 deg S.G.I.G. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October
26, 1962. He is also a Shriner, Saladin Temple, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
and an Honorary Member of DeMolay Legion of Honor.